Alert issued on couple and children

Sri Lankan nationals Mohammed Fayzed and Shikiri Wahab have gone missing with two young children

Ports and airports have been put on alert for a couple who have gone missing with two young children.

West Yorkshire Police said Sri Lankan nationals Mohammed Fayzed and Shikiri Wahab, who may also go by the name Fatima Shikiri Wahab Aftab, both 30, have broken a court order by taking the youngsters from a supervised visit.

Police said a nine-year-old girl called Afra, and her brother Ahmed, two, were taken from an address in Roundhay Road, Leeds, on Thursday afternoon. The pair made off in the direction of Spencer Place.

Anyone with information is asked to contact West Yorkshire Police "as a matter of urgency".

"An all-ports warning has been issued and extensive inquiries are currently taking place in the Leeds area," a police spokesman said.

Officers said the children were taken from the Clifford Brooke Centre in Roundhay Road, Leeds, as part of a supervised visit. As the children's escort was paying a taxi fare, the youngsters were taken by the couple, making off on foot at around 3.10pm on Thursday towards Spencer Place, police said.

A number of addresses across the West Yorkshire area have been searched overnight and police are now looking into connections the pair are believed to have in the Middlesbrough area. Police believe they are still in the UK.

At the time the children were taken Ahmed was wearing a beige hat, blue jacket and Adidas trainers and Afra was dressed in a black cardigan and skirt.

Mr Fayzed was dressed in blue jeans, a light blue sweater and a dark, khaki-coloured jacket. He was also wearing white trainers with black markings on the toes.

Ms Wahab was described as wearing black, knee-high boots with purple leggings and a floaty, floral patterned dress. She was also dressed in a dark-coloured cardigan and a peach-coloured headscarf.